It’s the sort of accident that makes you sick to your stomach
French racing driver Sébastien Bourdais suffered a massive accident on Saturday during qualifying for the 2017 Indianapolis 500 race.
The Dale Coyne Racing driver sustained multiple fractures to his pelvis and a fracture to his right hip after his Honda-powered single-seater hit the wall at around 230 mph (370 km/h).
Bourdais was on the third lap of his qualification run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when the back end of his No. 18 GEICO Honda suddenly slid, dashing into the Turn 2 SAFER Barrier. Even though the car caught fire and sustained massive damage, Bourdais was reportedly awake and alert as he was taken to the hospital.
"Surgery went well," IndyCar Medical Director Dr. Geoffrey Billows said. "I've met with Sébastien this morning, and he was doing even better than I expected."
Let's hope Bourdais will make a speedy recovery and return to the track stronger than ever. Speaking of strong, Scott Dixon, the driver who took pole-position for the Indy500 race, reckoned Bourdais would have beaten him to pole had he not been injured in practice.
As for Formula One ace Fernando Alonso, he qualified fifth for the May 28 race.